University of Tennessee Chancellor Jimmy Cheek: Do not accept your $22,356 pay raise

In 2011, tuition at the University of Tennessee was upped by 12% while UT Knoxville Chancellor Jimmy Cheek received a hefty pay raise. This year, tuition is going up again, and Jimmy Cheek is once again accepting a raise-- a $22,356 raise. He will be making $394,956 a year.

I am about to start my senior year at UT Knoxville studying electrical engineering. I don't think it's right for Chancellor Cheek to accept yet another pay raise during a tuition hike when so many students are struggling to pay as it is. This is unfair to UT students who work many hours a week (on top of their school work) to pay for school. Even then, many of these students will still be up to their neck in student debt after they graduate. Many current UT students are sharing their stories about how they struggle everyday so that they can keep up with tuition and do their best in their classes. This petition isn’t about changing the tuition increase, and it isn’t the job Cheek has done as chancellor. It’s about the principle that Cheek shouldn’t accept a pay raise during a tuition hike as so many students struggle to keep up with their tuition costs and work load.

This is a matter of principle. The UT Chancellor should not accept a raise during a tuition increase when so many students are struggling to pay already. If you agree, please join me in signing the petition - and if you are a UT student or alum, please do share your story in the comments section!

Letter to

Chancellor, University of Tennessee KnoxvilleJimmy Cheek

Media Contact for Board of Trustees, University of TennesseeGina Stafford

President's Executive Assistant, University of TennesseeKeith Carver

I just signed the following petition addressed to: Jimmy Cheek.

----------------Ask The University of Tennessee's Chancellor to deny his $22,356 pay raise.

In 2011, UT tuition was upped by %12 and Cheek received a hefty pay raise. This year, tuition is going up again, and Jimmy Cheek is once again accepting a raise-- a $22,356 raise. He will be making $394,956 dollars a year. This is unfair to UT students. Many work hours a week (on top of their school work) so they don't have to take out more student loans, and after they graduate, they will still up to their neck in student debt. This is a matter of principle. The UT Chancellor should not accept a raise from a tuition increase when so many students are struggling to pay already.----------------